


Any fin is possible

by NamelesslyNightlock



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Mermaids, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 07:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18824416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: When Loki pulls a human below the surface, he swears that it was a mistake. Thor isn’t convinced, and Tony? Well, he’s just along for the ride.





	Any fin is possible

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> I was chatting with **STARSdidathing** about what mermaids eat. We came up with 'birding', and the image of mermaids grabbing birds from the surface, which led to the idea of Loki grabbing Tony by 'accident.' Then this happened. 
> 
> Oh, and Stars did art.
> 
> Thanks **Rabentochter** for the title!

When Loki grabbed the human’s leg and pulled him below the surface, it had been a split second decision, an action almost entirely devoid of thought and completely based in instinct, a result of months spent yearning for something he could not have.

But the sudden rush of adrenaline was gone just as quickly as it had arrived, and then came the panic– both the human’s, as he realised that he was being pulled into the depths of the ocean, and then Loki’s, as he remembered that the human was _drowning_.

Of course, that was an easy fix. Everyone knows that the kiss of a mer is all that’s needed to save a human from drowning, and really, Loki didn’t have a _choice_. He pressed his lips to the human’s in something that was more desperate than affectionate– and the human, caught in his panic, didn’t even fight it. He accepted what Loki had to give, and when he realised that he could breathe, he only clung all the tighter.

And when Loki pulled away, those warm brown eyes were shining with curiosity, the fear having melted away. Still, enough wariness remained that Loki felt a stab of guilt.

“I’m sorry,” Loki said. “I did not mean—”

“Brother!”

Loki winced, and turned just in time to see Thor pull to a stop just beside him, his brow creased with worry. Loki’s arms were still around the human’s waist, holding him up in the water, and Thor seemed to consider them for a moment before arching his brow.

“Why have you stolen a human?” he asked, almost sounding amused.

“I, well—” _quick, Loki, think of something–_ “–I thought he was a bird.”

Thor pressed his lips together as if he were trying to muffle a guffaw, but before Loki could say anything else the human was snapping out his own question.

“Excuse me?” he asked. “You thought I was a _what?”_

“A bird,” Loki said again.

“I look _nothing_ like a bird.” The human didn’t try to move from Loki’s hold, and he didn’t even truly look angry– he was frowning more like he was trying to puzzle Loki out. “How do you even make that mistake?”

“Quite easily,” Loki insisted, knowing he was only digging his hole a little deeper but, well, he’d made his bed now. “We were birding, and I saw movement on the surface—”

“Is that… is that like _fishing—”_

“He is right, brother,” Thor said, his voice taunting, his grin far too wide for Loki’s liking. “Are you sure that you didn’t grab him on pur—”

“Shut up, Thor—”

“You know, he looks just like that human you have been spying on and pining over these past few—”

“Shut _up_ Thor!” Loki snapped again. He swiped out with his tail, clipping Thor over the head as he did so. It meant that he twisted in the water, and his arms wrapped more firmly around the human to compensate for the movement.

The human, though, didn’t seem to mind. His curiosity seemed to have deepened, and his smile had turned into something more like a smirk, his gaze _interested._

Loki wanted to say something, though he wasn’t sure whether it would be another apology or a question– but before he could, the human was speaking again

“I’m Tony,” the human said, shifting slightly in Loki’s hold to offer his hand in a gesture that Loki hadn’t seen before, but which was not difficult to interpret.

“And I am Loki,” Loki replied, entwining his fingers with Tony’s, finding himself fascinated by the difference in temperature.  

Tony seemed surprised that Loki had known to take Tony’s hand, though his smile was soft and amused.

“Thanks for not letting me drown, even if this was a, ah, mistake,” Tony said– and Loki groaned, feeling a warm flush rise on his cheeks. “Should I be flattered?”

“Definitely,” Thor muttered– but it only took another pointed glare in his direction for him to hold up his hands in surrender. Then he turned to swim way, his gold tail and red fins flicking through the water in powerful strokes as he left Loki and Tony alone.

“How is it that I’m breathing?” Tony asked, pulling Loki’s attention back. “And speaking this clearly, for that matter? I mean, we’re under the water.”

“A kiss from a mer stops a human from drowning,” Loki explained shortly, averting his gaze as his blush deepened further.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Tony sighed.

Loki tilted his head as he glanced back up, confused. “A shame?”

“I had hoped that you’d kissed me because you wanted to,” Tony replied, shrugging his shoulders in a manner that shifted Loki’s hands over his bare skin. Unlike most of the time Loki had observed him, Tony was wearing only bright red material that covered the top half of his legs, items that Loki had seen humans swimming in before, and which put much more skin on display than the clothing humans wore on land or on boats. It made it rather difficult for Loki to concentrate, and Tony’s words had _not_ helped. “Does it wear off?”

“What do you mean?” Loki asked, hope rising in his chest, his mind still reeling from what Tony had said. All this time _wanting_ , and Tony… wanted to kiss him as well?

“Well, does it only last for a certain amount of time? If I go to the surface and breathe air again, will I be able to come back or will it have disappeared?” Tony leaned in closer, only an inch or so of water remaining between them.

Loki’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and his voice was quiet and breathless. “I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve never tested it before.”

“Perhaps we should test it now, then,” Tony replied– and then he tilted his head forward, and drew Loki into a real, searing _kiss_.

Loki’s green tail curled around Tony’s legs, and his hands ran through his short hair. Tony’s hands ran over skin and scales without prejudice, and his lips were the sweetest thing that Loki had ever tasted.

When the kiss ended, they did not move away. Loki held Tony’s gaze, a smile still playing around the edges of his lips– a smile that only deepened as he felt one of Tony’s feet slide happily along his scales.

Tony was smiling as well, and he hummed contentedly from the back of his throat. “Yeah,” he sighed. “I think we might need to renew your anti-drowning trick a few more times, if you don’t mind.”

Loki laughed, leaning his head against Tony’s shoulder and pressing a kiss to the curve of his neck. “Oh, Tony,” he said. “I don’t mind at all.”

Loki knew that he was probably in trouble– because not only had he brought a human before the surface, but he and Thor had not even retrieved any birds for their dinner. Still, in that moment, Loki couldn’t help but think that it had been a rather successful birding trip regardless, and he knew that he would not come to regret that single impulsive decision.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> STARSdidathing's art, which convinced me to write this:  
> 


End file.
